I’m beginning to hate French movies... make something DIFFERENT for the love of god!

]]>ValeofruinMishima: A Life in Four Chapters, 1985 - ★★★★https://embed.letterboxd.com/valeofruin/film/mishima-a-life-in-four-chapters/ letterboxd-review-65177607Mon, 13 May 2019 10:39:42 +12002019-05-12NoMishima: A Life in Four Chapters19854.0

Tl;dr it looks and sounds great. Best Japanese animated film of the year.... BUT the writing was dumb. Don’t regret seeing it in theatres

Pros:

1. Absolutely superb grasp of visual composition in animation. Top notch score, near flawless editing. Technically/theoretically speaking the best in the series.

This was definitively a FILM and not a TV EPISODE and was by far the most well crafted anime I’ve seen this year.

2. Despite its flaws it is still a good 3.5/5 movie, which is surprising considering this series has been resurrected from the dead twice. A staple for any fans of the Space opera genre or people who simply love giant robot drama.

Cons 1. Exposition exposition exposition... moreso than the originals perhaps. Melodrama and monologues are a part of the genre but these sort of droned on a bit and did a lot of telling as opposed to showing. Very stereotypically “anime” dialogue which ran countrary to the films more professional design.

2. Pacing was very long, boring or heavy handed on the absurdly long battle there toward the end.

3. Sort of convoluted in the sense that it added convenient sets of new lands and antagonists, on which to bring this thing back to life...again.

It was kind of like a similar series: Star Wars. I like Kylo Ren.. but after Darth Vader what can they really offer?

Would have liked to see this stick to China, Britainia and Japan; without so many new things. Much of this plot felt like they were sort of stumbling through it.

A movie that is a technical work of enfante terrible genius and possesses one of the strongest first acts I have EVER seen. It’s like Dead or Alive in reverse.

Highly original, absolutely deranged and supremely bizarre this movie ALMOST tops “Love & Peace” on the list of absolute wildest movie rides! Bearing in mind that while it may lose the battle for sheer entertainment it certainly wins in terms of cinematic technique. Incredibly diverse camera angles and motion. Competence in composition and highly avant-garde editing and stop motion sequences make this one for the ages.

It does drag for about In the middle, before picking up and closing strong. All things considered however this, to me, is ok! At the end of the day, no movie can ever hope to be 100% successful in every way. It packs a powerful punch when it needs to and the skill of this crew soldiers on regardless!

Firstly the film was a valiant effort. It tried... it really tried to be Mulholland Drive in its use of overzealous acting to lend to a sense of surrealism. It tried to be Love Exposure in the way that it attempted to take what was, by any measure, a terrible movie with immature comedy into an emotionally compelling drama.

Yet it fails MISERABLY at either. It simply tries to accomplish too much at once; the effect of which is an incongruency.

In other words, the film lacked any cohesive TONE or emotional bearing. It felt very disingenuous.. and not just in the superficial sense that the acting/dialogue was constructed like it was. Rather it felt hesitant to commit. A major fault in a film such as this.. one that’s designed to convey a series of emotions rather than a series of events.

Writing wise things were off as well. Characters didn’t have any clearly defined goals internal or external or compelling obstacles. They just sort of acted out this uninteresting plot-driven “story” without ever peeling back the layers to unveil something truly compelling below.

If you wanna be Mulholland Drive you need more than just a few well composed (the pool scene of the captain) surrealist scenes or characters. What you need is a consistent and suffocating sense of just.. malevolence and brooding. The feeling of being trapped in some sort of all pervasive nightmare, beneath which lie some unseen sinister force cloaked behind layers of disingenuous smiles.

If you wanna be Love Exposure you need superficially absurd characters, with appallingly immature ambitions that secretly have tapped in to the fundamental meaning behind human existence. With profound emotional depths and melodramatic potential unseen to the audience at first glance.

This movie wasn’t like that.. it wasn’t the tip of the iceberg.. it just was what it was. What a letdown..

That said there were some positives to this film:

1. Art Direction was on point with well designed sets and props. 2. Shot blocking, Mis En Scene and composition were phenomenal and consistent! I couldn’t find too many scenes that weren’t well thought out in terms of special relationships (depth) and symmetry. I mean composition was a thought literally from the first frame to the last. Always a good sign! Considering that this is basically half of the art of cinematography makes this movie quite formidable. 3. Lighting was GOOD, not spectacular or awe inspiring but it certainly didn’t suck. 4. Sound mixing and scoring was on the right track. Initially I was highly impressed but it needed to be more subtle. I understand what the film was going for.. the “white noise” effect.. but white noise is just that.. white noise. It was very neat and stylized while it lasted though, before it grew old. Emotional scenes were scored perfectly as well, however the team seems to have missed the point. The score on its own is not enough, nor is the content of the conversation. Rather it’s a blend of these elements with subtext and narrative that really Drive a melodramatic scene home. 5. Color Grading- I really liked the grade in this film. I don’t really have much to say about it in terms of negatives tbh. Editors brought each scene to life, giving it vibrancy without being overbearing. Little was observed in terms of artifacts and such. Good job.

Apart from this, There were also areas that I was neutral on/needed some work.. but certainly weren’t bad: 1. Editing... it was sufficient (otherwise this would have imploded like “The Room”) but not really that creative or innovative. I got the sense that this was one of those movies that wasn’t filmed with the edit in mind. Rather it was just sort of handed off to an editor who was asked to make something of it. The editor seems to have tried and certainly isn’t jarring.. so the minimum criteria of good editing is met. We just didn’t excel 2. Cinematography- While we mastered HALF the art (in composition + Light) the other half was very simplistic in nature. Consistently Steady frames, lack of dolly shots or tracking shots, moderate diversity in camera angle etc. I mean we chose the right lenses I suppose but is that really enough to stand out. Big fat meh.. here as well!

All in all it was good.. it wasn’t bad. I hated the movie as a whole but I respect that they were consistent in composition. They clearly cared about making it good! I respect that they tried to do something different too! I just don’t feel like this is the one..

A solid 3.5/5 for a valiant effort and a gold star for encouragement to try again.. it’s getting there..

This is literally the most genuinely disturbing shit I have EVER seen in a movie!

I don’t know what it is about it. I mean, there’s all sorts of creepy movies out there right?

...But there’s just something about THIS movie that makes me legitimately think that Svankmejer May have skinned a house cat or two back in the day.

See the thing is; this film isn’t SUPPOSED to be this disturbing. It’s as if a serial killer wanted to make a family friendly film.. and they tried as hard as they could to NOT give off serial killer vibes... but then accidentally gave off serial killer vibes (despite their best efforts)

Seriously if Svankmejer was my neighbor I’d check my kids Halloween candy for razor blades before allowing them to eat any of it. Real talk.. something is just “off” about this movie.

You can Love it or Hate it.. but you’re sure as hell gonna remember it!

]]>ValeofruinSenpais Comprehensive List of Weird Ass Japanese Movies That Will Fuck You Up For Life and Leave You Uncertain If They Were Masterpieces or Just Psychotic Ramblingshttps://embed.letterboxd.com/valeofruin/list/senpais-comprehensive-list-of-weird-ass-japanese/ letterboxd-list-4204617Tue, 16 Apr 2019 14:24:08 +1200Better known as a unified explanation for the mental illness I apparently have.

This isn’t Ozu.. I have no hugs for you.. neither does this list. It’s weird, shocking and/or dark as hell. Enjoy it.

]]>Valeofruin14 Films to See Before You Diehttps://embed.letterboxd.com/valeofruin/list/13-films-to-see-before-you-die/ letterboxd-list-3569040Sat, 19 Jan 2019 17:14:26 +1300An evolving list of films that simply everyone needs to see before they die.

“A successful, and often young, "genius" who is very unorthodox, striking, and in some cases, offensive, or rebellious.”

This list:

An unranked list of films that are highly experimental and/or strange while still being extremely well filmed. Argued by some as being the greatest film ever made, scorned by others as the worst. There are many reasons for them to be here. Perhaps their stories are shocking/controversial or their filmmaking approach highly unorthodox. Others find themselves here for their highly abstract and ambiguous stories.

The only guarantee that can be made going in is that are going to be offensive, “campy” or confusing to an extreme degree.

Most are made by up and coming young filmmakers of their time. Others however were made by Award Winning/ World Class Directors out of boredom or frustration.

Many have been banned in one or more countries, some remain so to this day.

Highly divisive cult classics that are either Loved or Hated by nearly everyone who sees them! There is rarely any middle ground!

Whether YOU Love them or you hate them you’ve probably never seen anything quite like them!

Responses were weighted to favor: 1. Pro Filmmakers and Film Crew 2. Low Budget/No- Budget Independent Filmmakers and Senior Film Students 3. Professional (Paid) Film Critics and Film Server Admins (Without a position listed above) 4. Unpaid Critics with extensive critical experience (1000+ ratings/ 100+ Reviews), Senior Members and Mods 5. Film Lovers, Cinephiles and New members